The Beginning and End of Everything
by Amatus
Summary: "I love her and that is the beginning and end of everything." - F. Scott Fitzgerald. Reality-Rebel's one hundred theme challenge from deviantArt, all themes pertaining to Riku/Xion. Rated for safety; suggestions and requests always welcome. 39. "Dream." In which Xion sleeps and waits for the dreams to end.
1. Heart

_**"I love her and that is the beginning and end of everything." - F. Scott Fitzgerald**_

**SPOILERS for 3D—do I still need this warning?**

* * *

"To think," Xion says, arms wrapped around her knees, "all that time we had hearts."

"It wasn't really all that shocking to me." The boy (man? savior? Master?) beside her takes a bite out of the ice cream she bought him, flinches at the salt on his tongue, doesn't look her way. "Not after I saw how much you cared for people you didn't even know."

And really, what is she supposed to say when the boy she never got to know says that? She rests her head on her knees, hiding the blush and smile that rises at his words.

* * *

**Surprise! After much deliberation that ended only after seeing this list of challenges and finding that too many of them worked well for RikuShi, I decided to do one last 100 theme challenge for this pairing. I love them and these challenges far too much not to do one as a final hurrah before life completely changes for me...**

**The rules are much the same as the last time around: one hundred words per theme, no time limit in which to write the drabble, all drabbles coming back to Rion in some way. I am putting an extra limit on myself this time, however; I've noticed a Rion trend in which the fics that focus on one character's perspective are predominantly Riku-based. There's nothing wrong with this, but I'm going to make an effort to have the large majority of these themes come from Xion's side of their relationship. You, as readers and reviewers, have one assignment during this whole challenge: to help keep me in line, LOL.**

**As always, I still love challenges and requests, so if there's a particular situation in which you want to see Riku and Xion, let me know. I should also warn you here that I may end up going back to some "Strength and Courage" drabbles that seem wanting, and if you still don't want any KH3D spoilers, there will likely be even more than the one I posted above. Sorry...**

**I do not own any of the characters, settings, concepts, and events in the following drabble series except for what I'll tell you I own—you'll be able to recognize what's mine and what isn't, it won't be nearly as developed; the elements on which this series is based are owned by Disney and Square Enix, and as always, faithful readers, read and enjoy!**


	2. Embarrassing

**Thanks to ImVen for reviewing and to HeartsMockingjay for following this story! Hope you all continue enjoying this. ^_^**

**Set during _Days_ on the first night of the forty days Riku and Xion are on the run together.**

"I..."

Riku pauses in setting up their meager campfire, glances up at Xion with his unnerving, blindfolded gaze. "What?"

"Thanks for... saving me, I guess? For making sure I was all right when I passed out."

If she's not mistaken, the corner of his mouth quirks upward, but he lowers his face before she gets a good look. "You're welcome."

Slowly, cautiously folding her legs under her, Xion seats herself across the campfire from him. "Yeah... It was kind of embarrassing, to be honest."

"I bet."

That's all the more they say for the first night, but it's a start.


	3. Rough

**Thanks to ImVen, ZealousZexionZealot, Knight-Dawn, and The Trio of Twilight for the support! ^_^**

**Remember the CPR scene in **_**The Emperor's New **_**Groove? Yeah, Riku and Xion get sent over the waterfall, too. This drabble is related to #25 "Waterfall" from "Strength and Courage," but you don't really need to read it, I wouldn't think. ^_^**

* * *

Something is pinching her nose shut.

Xion gasps, not even fully awake, flinging her hands in front of her—immediately her knuckles make contact with something soft above her.

Above her?

"Ri-riku?" She blinks; as the world solidifies, Riku leans out of her vision, rubbing his cheek.

"Well, that was rough. Never riding over a waterfall again."

"Wh-were you trying to kiss me?!" She pushes herself away from him—from underneath him, no less—before he even answers.

"You weren't breathing," he snaps. "I was doing CPR..."

"Oh..."

Xion still doesn't look at him for the remainder of the night.


	4. Fight

**Thanks to ImVen for reviewing!**

**Set sometime after Xion awakens in KHIII—I really hope they don't let this kind of plot bunny with Vexen and Xion slip by...**

* * *

"Xion, it's Vexen. He treats ordinary people as lab rats. Imagine how he'll be around you."

"He's the only one with the answers I need." She purses her lips; Riku ignores the movement.

"We can find them somewhere else. Don't go." As if that were the final word, he turns on his heel to leave.

"You know, you didn't used to make decisions for me."

Riku sucks in a breath, and all noise in the room is swallowed by the tension between them.

"I'm sorry," he says at last, still not facing her. "I just—it's hard seeing you hurt."


	5. Sunrise

**Thanks to ImVen and DGMSilverAirHead03 for reviewing! :D  
**

**Based on the idea I have that Riku and Xion aren't public about their relationship for a while after it starts—Xion doesn't even tell Roxas or Lea while she tries to find a good way to break the truth to them. Enjoy!**

* * *

The sunlight filling the tent causes Riku's eyes to twitch and Xion to giggle.

Riku sleeps on, though, even as she slips out of the covers. It won't be long until someone starts making the rounds and bursts into the tent to wake him up, and Xion doesn't dare be found here—not yet. Instead, she ducks out of Riku's tiny shelter and darts across the campsite to the tent she was supposed to be sharing with Naminé, not even pausing to admire the sunrise that woke her up.

Someday, they won't have to sneak around. But not yet.


	6. Night

**Thanks to ImVen for reviewing!**

**Set after the first time Axel captures Xion and takes her back to the Organization in _Days_. Enjoy!**

* * *

The first night after he sends Xion back, Riku doesn't notice when he doesn't sleep.

He notices the second night but shrugs it off; DiZ is irritated as it is, and no more than Riku trusts him, he assumes worrying about Naminé caused it.

The third day, though, there's no reason he shouldn't be asleep; the inn room is stiflingly silent, which should be fine.

But there is no one left to listen for, no rhythmic breathing to set his mind at ease, and he never knew he needed that last reassurance to sleep at night until it was gone.


	7. Burn

**Thanks to ImVen for reviewing!**

**The last line is a play on a lyric from Paramore's "I Caught Myself," which is such a RikuShi song it's not even funny, in my opinion. ^_^ Yes, yes, I know, the RikuShionRoku triangle is probably really overdone and cliche by now, but eh. Enjoy!**

_"When I caught myself, I had to stop myself from saying something that I should have never thought of you." —Paramore_

* * *

Roxas has only ever kissed her once, but he was still too late.

It was supposed to be beautiful and romantic and perfect, but instead it felt so very wrong—at least, it did for Xion. She flushed with embarrassment and confusion afterward, feeling sick inside, and she _knows_ it's supposed to be Roxas; he's her best friend, he knows her better than anyone else in the world...

So why did she think of Riku instead?

And Roxas kept smiling at her, oblivious to the burn of her guilt and longing for someone she should never have thought of.


	8. Scream

**Thanks to ImVen for reviewing!**

**Set sometime during KHIII, after Xion wakes up. Enjoy!**

* * *

"There at the end, when I—when I fought Roxas—"

"You don't have to explain," Riku says.

Xion shakes her head. She thought she was good with words—maybe not like Lea, the master of lies and excuses, but good enough to express herself—but now, when it's important, she struggles to say anything, let alone what she _wants_ him to know.

"I wanted to scream for you," she says at last. "I kept hoping you'd find us before it was too late—you were the only one who could help me."

His hand closes around her wrist in apology.


	9. Black

**Thanks to ImVen for reviewing again! :D**

**I hope you all consider this an acceptable entry for "Black," LOL—I tried to slip in enough imagery for you to understand how I got this from the prompt. :) Let me know if it worked?**

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Darkness swirls around Riku's fingers, black tendrils dancing in the spaces between and flecks of dark colors glinting enticingly in the dim light of the room. One silver eyebrow arches upward as Riku reaches toward Xion.

She lifts her eyebrows in response, stretching out her hand and intertwining their fingers through the Darkness; it dissipates at her touch, and she smiles.

"You probably shouldn't do that, you know."

"I lived in the World that Never Was for a year and in the dark of Sora's heart for another," she says. "A few specks of black from you don't scare me."


	10. Bliss

**Thanks to ImVen, Starry Requiem, DGMSilverAirHead03, and IvyZee for the reviews and favorites! 8D**

**Ha HA! Sorry this is such a late post—as my friends will tell you, "bliss" and other such happy prompts are hard for me to deal with, but this has finally been written and finished. :) Sadly, however, it only took me ten prompts to return to _this_ part of OHS and SAC—beware the (lamely-titled) "Kiss" arc of drabbles and its super angst—but it starts off cute!**

**Set sometime in KHIII in the middle of one of Riku's angst modes—how's this for a first kiss. Enjoy!**

* * *

"What is it, Riku?"

Uneasiness curls in Xion's stomach—Riku hasn't looked at her properly all day, yet now he's cornered her behind a marble pillar where the others can't immediately see them. He ignores her question, clenching one hand into a fist as he stares.

"You don't look well," she murmurs—"crazy" is a better—

He rushes her, cups her cheeks in his hands, and then his lips are pressed to hers and moving...

It takes Xion a moment to find her way out of the bliss kissing Riku puts her in so she can kiss him back.


	11. Tension

**Thanks to ImVen for reviewing!**

**Ironically enough, this is set the day after the last drabble, but it occurs after all the drama associated with Riku and Xion's first kiss in this drabble series. Basically, Riku admits that he only kissed Xion because he wanted to know how it felt but didn't want to pursue a relationship to protect them both. Xion is understandably frustrated and offended. Also, poor, poor Sora. ^_^ Enjoy!**

* * *

Sora knows the instant Xion sits as far away from Riku as possible that something is very wrong.

He glances at Riku out of the corner of his eye; Riku, however, ducks his gaze, putting down his silverware and crossing his arms.

Sora gulps. "Uh, Xion...?"

"What."

"I just, uh..." Xion picks up her fork and picks at the breakfast she brought with her. "You seem a little off."

"I'm fine. Didn't sleep well."

With a loud groan as the chair scrapes along the floor, Riku pushes himself up and stalks out of the inn. Xion stabs at her eggs.


	12. Shadows

**Thanks to ImVen for reviewing!**

**Employs the idea that Namin****é**** can also influence Kairi the way Roxas can Sora—and the way Xion could Roxas at the end of **_**Days.**_** Enjoy!**

* * *

"It's like..." Riku sighs. "There's an entire month of my life missing—I was working on something for Ansem the Wise, but all I can remember are shadows—like there was something or someone there."

Kairi frowns—then grabs the sketchbook she keeps nearby, pulling out the pencil wedged in the spiral. "It's not just you," she says; her Nobody hastily outlines a figure in a dark robe through her hand. "Naminé knows who it is—she looks like this."

Riku's hand shakes slightly when she gives him the drawing. "That's—that's it. Naminé, how did you...?"

"She's waking up."


	13. The End

**Thanks to ImVen for reviewing!**

**Set at the end of **_**Days**_**, right before the final day. Try to enjoy? Sorry for the angst...**

* * *

Riku backs away from the scene playing out below him and into Naminé's room before he even knows he's opened a Corridor.

By the time he closes the portal, Riku's already forgetting the details of what he saw.

"It's done, isn't it?"

Riku bows his head, but it's more of a confirmation than Naminé needs.

It is, indeed, done at last—Xion gave up Sora's memories and saved Roxas, if only for a day or so.

It is the end to a short, sad story, but if he can't be relieved that it's over, then he is at least grateful.


	14. Star

**Thanks to ImVen for reviewing!**

**Set the night before the final battle in KHIII—for anyone who's read "One Hundred Suns", it would be right after "Beach," which has a whole set of implications for this drabble...**

* * *

She wakes up in the middle of the night with Riku's arms still around her, the waves lapping at their feet. Xion turns her head to look past the fringe of his hair fluttering in her eyes; the stars above continue to wink and dance over them all, as if blissfully unaware of the impending danger.

"Sure are a lot of worlds out there, Riku," she murmurs, but for the first time in a long while, with his warmth and Light next to her, she doesn't tremble.

"There'll be a lot of worlds after tomorrow, too," Riku says quietly.


	15. Encounter

**Thanks to ImVen for reviewing!**

**Refers back to a scene in 3D—I'm not putting spoiler warnings up anymore, it's been a while since the game was released, so be warned—but is set sometime between 3D and III. Enjoy!**

* * *

He keeps dreaming of the encounter with the girl in black inside Sora's heart.

Riku hasn't figured out yet why it sticks out—he doesn't know her anymore than the boy who definitely wasn't Roxas, but the boy isn't haunting his dreams. He hadn't felt so... _at ease_ around Not-Roxas, hadn't been comfortable enough to quip at him the way he had the girl.

The blank, sad stare from either boy hadn't been as painful to see as hers, either.

In fact, if Riku hadn't known any better, he would have said he'd met the girl in black before.


	16. Breath

**Thanks to ImVen, Johnny Hendo, and DGMSilverAirHead03 for the reviews and favorite!**

**See, eventually I always come back to this and keep elaborating on it... This is related to the "Sleeping Beauty" arc of SAC and OHS, in which Maleficent tries to get revenge on Riku but ends up cursing Xion instead, prompting Riku's self-doubt to come to a head. If you're interested, look up OHS prompts 47 and 73 and SAC prompts 53, 68, 52, 34, and 40. There's also a longer oneshot related to the drama on my profile... Anyway, sorry for continuing a storyline that needs to die but enjoy it all the same!**

* * *

_"I was looking for the breath of life, a little touch of heavenly light..." —Florence + the Machine, "Breath of Life"_

* * *

Xion is so _cold_ when he rests a hand on her shoulder, and he stops, hesitating. Behind him, though, Roxas' eyes bore into his head, and he can't back out now.

Riku leans forward until his forehead is pressed against hers, swallowing against the burning lump in his throat when Xion doesn't react slightly at his touch. He can't even feel her breathing—he stops himself before he goes down that path. Maleficent didn't win, she _couldn't_...

"I'm sorry," he murmurs before finally kissing her.

At the sound of Xion's first real breath in a long while, his heart leaps.


	17. Unknown

**Thanks to ImVen, Emo Unfaltering, and DGMSilverAirHead03 for reviewing! :D**

**This was supposed to have a long rant about how Xion isn't sure about who she is after Riku helps Sora bring her back and how she doesn't know what will happen to her as she gets older, etc., but she won't let it stop her or Riku. This works just as well, honestly... :D Also aiming to recapture the adorable Xion we see early on in _Days_, which I think I have a tendency to forget about...**

* * *

"I'm not afraid of you, your past, my future, or anything else Xehanort can throw at us," Xion says, flopping on Riku's bed and scooting closer until her thigh is pressed against his, "and I won't let you be, either."

Riku simply stares dumbly at her; Xion stares back, breathing heavily. "Xion," he musters at last, "I..."

"Am I allowed to kiss you?"

Riku laughs once before catching himself. "You have to ask?"

"Well, I wouldn't, but this dating thing is still new and unknown to me—"

She stops talking as soon as he closes the distance between their lips.


	18. Blood

**Thanks to ImVen and DGMSilverAirHead03 for reviewing!**

**Ay, ay, ay, so much revision... Forty extra words to cut out. -_- Luckily for you, loyal readers, this means you have a bonus short to read at the end of this challenge.**

**So, at the end of 3D, the Organization disappears without a thirteenth member, meaning that in the next installment, they're still recruiting... which means no one is safe from torture. ;) Enjoy...**

* * *

Riku's breathing, but red stains her fingers when she lifts her hands from his shirt.

In a flash of white, she's thrown backward, crying out as her body strikes the floor.

"Do you see yet, Fourteen?" The click of boots against the floor echoes through the chamber. "Your very existence causes suffering. You have allowed others to protect you for too long."

Young Xehanort's hand caresses her chin, curving around to her neck to lift her head off the ground. "Look at the blood you've forced us to spill now. You should have joined us and spared him this pain."


	19. Sun

**Thanks to ImVen for reviewing!**

**I am so ashamed of myself for using the cliche in this drabble... Okay, not really, but it's there. ;) Set in the future, during KHIII. Enjoy!**

* * *

It's pathetic, really.

Forty days on the run with him, and Xion had never once seen Riku actually smile. The corners of his mouth might have twitched upward when she tried to be clever or did something too much like Sora, but that's all.

Maybe that's why she's blinded when she finally sees it.

They're up on the clock tower, just the two of them for the first time in years, and he's laughing and grinning at some throwaway line she'd said about Demyx...

As silly as it sounds, it really is like seeing the sun for the first time.


	20. Explain

**Thanks to ImVen and Urter for reviewing!**

**Y'know, when I first finished this one, I didn't like it so much, but the more I look at it, the more I like it with the theme. :) Set at the end of the conversation Riku and Xion started in the last drabble. Enjoy!**

* * *

"What was it like? When you..."

"When I died?"

"You didn't really die..." Already Riku wishes he hadn't asked her to explain.

Xion stares off into the horizon of Twilight Town for a long while, silent and unmoving; just when Riku thinks that she's not going to answer and decides to make some excuse for them to leave, however, she says, "It didn't hurt, if that's what you wanted to know."

"I didn't want—" He stops himself before he starts shouting. "I just don't want you to feel like you have to keep it all to yourself. It doesn't work."


	21. Fear

**Thanks to ImVen and IvyZee for reviewing! :D**

**That awesome moment when "One Hundred Suns" starts playing while you're writing...**

**The following has a tiny spoiler for 3D, and the entire drabble won't make sense unless you've watched/played KH3D or had someone explain that terror that is the Recusant's Sigil. That being said, this technically goes back to the giant retcon of an series of drabbles in OHS. When the first KH blog site reported a new symbol, I assumed it would have something to do with reformed Nobodies and based some speculative headcanon on that; however, it turns out the symbol was actually for Dream Eaters, which forced me to rewrite my headcanon. The updated story includes one of the new Organization XIII members attempting to track Sora's company and draw out either another Light or Darkness to better formulate a plan... (OHS 50, 70, and 75—70 in particular—and SAC 67 are the related chapters, if you're interested.)**

* * *

The world is too calm for all her fear; it should be thunder and lightning instead of clear skies. "They marked me, it's not just my name—"

"What're you talking about?" Riku's hands trap her arms to her sides like a straitjacket.

"Look—" She shoves his hands away, pulls aside the collar of her shirt. The Potions did their work, but the Recusant's Sigil is still cut into her skin.

Fingers trembling, he traces the cross over her heart. "Xion..."

Her hands clutch at his vest, pulling him in and crushing her mouth to his.

This is her last chance.


	22. Smoking

**Thanks to ImVen and DGMSilverAirHead03 for reviewing!**

**Relates back to SAC 41. "California," in which the company travels to California for reasons unknown and in which Lea gets some adult beverages...**

* * *

"Showin' some skin, Xi?"

Riku averts his eyes as Xion wraps one arm around her waist and covers her face with the other, obscuring the pattern of her bikini top. "Lea, please, just shut up..."

(He nearly misses Xion's muttered response trying to forget that _the bottom of her bikini has the same the pattern_...)

"Why do I gotta shuddup?" Lea throws up a hand in all his drunken glory. "'M not the only one who thinks you're smokin'. Shoulda seen Riku when we found ya..."

Riku avoids Xion and her friend for the rest of their excursion in California.


	23. Moon

**Thanks to DGMSilverAirHead03 and ImVen for reviewing!**

**Man, this idea's been in the works for a looong tiiime... It's one of the rare drabbles that may be expanded on into a "hidden scene" type of fic, but we'll see. For now, enjoy!**

* * *

"What're you doing?"

"Tucking you in," Riku says, poking a corner of her blanket under her shoulder. "Got you an extra blanket."

"Sure you won't need it?"

"Don't worry about me."

Xion blinks, moonlight reflecting off hazy, sleepy eyes. "Be a lot easier if you'd take care of yourself."

"It's too late for you to be lecturing me." He leans down, forehead resting lightly on hers, the fringe of his hair blocking the flickering light of the campfire behind him.

"Or too early."

The kiss goodnight Xion gives him will forever stay a secret between them and the moon.


	24. Sunset

**Thanks to ImVen and DGMSilverAirHead03 for reviewing!**

**There's a quick reference to SAC 57. "Best Friends" in here (Sora bullies Riku into getting ice cream, Riku gets a winner stick and passes it on to Xion), but I think the background of this drabble is pretty self-explanatory without reading the full scene, actually. ^_^ Enjoy the friendshippy cuteness!**

* * *

"I thought watching the sunset was a you, Roxas, and Axel thing."

"Not quite." Xion tugs on Riku's hand as she pulls him up the clock tower staircase. "It's a best friend thing, and Roxas and Lea are my best friends."

"All I did was give you a 'winner' stick."

"And call me your best friend. You give me a winner stick, I show you my favorite place in the world."

"I've already seen it."

She stops to glare at him, but when he laughs at her pout, her face warms up, and her stomach starts twisting into knots...


	25. Soldier

**Thanks to ImVen and Knight-Dawn for reviewing! :D**

**Set sometime after 21. "Fear." Not much to say today, so enjoy!**

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"Kinda need that back."

She glances up at him, smirking briefly at his open vest, before clutching Riku's Mark of Mastery symbol tighter and letting her gaze fall. "Master, huh?"

"Yeah—what's up?"

"It's just..." She lets Riku's hand guide her chin up, attempting a smile. "With everything going on—" unconsciously her hand covers her heart and the scar— "I can't help but wonder if we're going to be soldiers for the rest of our lives."

The bed shifts as Riku adds his weight. "I promise you," he says, pressing his forehead to hers, "it will get better than this."


	26. Redemption

**Thanks to ImVen for reviewing!**

**My current theory about bringing Roxas and Xion back to life is that Sora and Riku are going to have to pull a KH3D Joshua—as in, they are going to have to recognize and understand them to give them a way to come back. This is even more vital for Xion; I'm assuming any memories of her can't come back until that requirement is satisfied as well. Therefore, the following drabble takes place early in in KHIII; Riku is Diving into Sora's Heart to bring Xion back, and Sora will Dive to bring Roxas back, and Riku's memories of Xion have been restored. Connected to OHS 84 and SAC 86.**

* * *

"It was my fault."

The intensity that radiates from Riku is pouring from his eyes, honesty and regret and even anger; lightly she sets a hand on the back of his. "Where'd you get that?"

"I should have gone with you—I could have held Axel off—"

"And Roxas wouldn't have even known." Her fingers curl around his palm. "It worked out for the best."

"That doesn't change the fact that I'm sorry." Riku forces his hand out from under hers and stands—and to her surprise, turns around and holds his hand out to her. "But I'm setting things right."


	27. Longing

**Thanks to ImVen and DGMSilverAireHead03 for reviewing! Forgive the delay in this post - FanFic locked me out for a while, so this is technically late, but it was ready last night!**

**More friendshipping/bonding time! Set in _Days_, toward the end of Riku and Xion's forty-day run from the Organization, just before Riku lets Xion be taken back by Axel. Enjoy!**

* * *

"You miss them."

Riku sits beside her, ignoring her surprise and staring out over the crevices below the castle they've relocated to. Even in the remains of Hollow Bastion, the sunset is beautiful, if more weary and longing than Twilight Town, and Riku seems to engross himself in it.

"My friends?" Xion rests her head on her drawn-up knees. "Yeah."

Riku nods to himself. "I'd tell you it gets easier," he says at last, "but it doesn't."

It's the most Riku's ever said to her about his friends, really, but it's more than she ever thought she'd be trusted with.


	28. Strive

**Thank to Nozomi Illuminated for the favorite! :D**

**Set after Xion's return in KHIII. Kinda cheesy (okay, really cheesy), but come on, cheese is everyone's favorite, right? XP**

* * *

Xion's eyes meet his from across the room, and like always, she smiles a little to herself—to him—and for the thousandth time this week, Riku finds himself catching his breath.

It's infuriating—and a little humiliating, even if she never knows it—how much power Xion's smile has over him now, how a small show of her gratitude can steal his breath away without her ever being the wiser to his reaction.

He's always striving for the upper hand in the battle for his breath anymore—but somehow, this is a battle he's content to fight forever.


	29. Warmth

His hand inches up her thigh, igniting sparks under her skin, and she shudders from the warmth in her stomach and tightens her grip on his shoulders.

"We don't have to do this, if you don't want to."

Xion shakes her head, kissing him and pushing her forehead against his; their breath mingles between them, and with every breath she breathes in some part of Riku. "I want to," she murmurs. "I want _you_."

Riku cracks a small smile—all he can muster with the immensity of what they're doing looming over them. "I love you."

"I love you, too."

* * *

**It's coming.**

**Guys. Guys guys guys. _Kingdom Hearts III_ was announced.**

…

_**HOLY ASDFJKL;**_

**Now that I've gotten that out of the way... I started writing this prompt after the news was announced today, but even though I had the idea that this prompt would end up a little steamy, I gave it a little more implications. Consider it a KHIII Day present to the world from one of the biggest prudes on the Internet, LOL.**

**Thanks to ImVen for reviewing twice!**


	30. Solitude

**Thanks to ImVen, DGMSilverAirHead03, and Knight-Dawn for reviewing!**

**Shh, this isn't a few minutes after the deadline... ;) Set after the second visit to the Land of Dragons in KHII, when Sora runs into Riku again. Tangential Rion moment, but hey, phantom-limb!Rion is still good...**

* * *

Traveling alone should not feel this lonely—especially not with the Darkness he wears whispering constantly in his heart.

Maybe it's the pang of regret at watching Sora leave from his hiding place on the palace roof that leaves Riku sullen and immobile until night sets in and the chill sets into his bones. It's been a few months since he's really talked to someone without impending doom looming over them; maybe it's just the loneliness without Mickey or—

But there never was an "or"... was there?

Maybe this forced solitude is finally starting to wear him down.


	31. Space

**Thanks to DGMSilverAirHead03 and ImVen for reviewing, and thanks to stolenprayeritsme for the favorite!**

**Two dictionary definitions of space in one drabble... Set early in the drabble version of KHIII I have established, as I have yet again been thrown completely out of the ballpark by new canon. _And I don't care a bit 'cause it's going to be _awesome. :D Enjoy!**

* * *

"I thought space would be a lot darker."

Behind her, Riku chuckles, but as much as Xion likes ogling at his smirk, she can't quite tear herself away from the Gummi ship window—

—that is, until Sora's manic piloting tosses her backward.

With a shout she throws her arms out, but something latches onto her waist as she falls to the floor.

She lands on something a lot softer, however; Riku groans under her, but his arms never loosen around her.

The sudden lack of space between them is even more intimidating than the depths outside the window.


	32. Company

**Thanks to ImVen, pandamustache (1. omg, I adore your Anon name so much it's not even funny, and 2. I'm so glad to hear you're enjoying these!), and DGMSilverAirHead03 for reviewing!**

**So, the (asdfjkl; awesome thank you God it's real) KHIII announcement completely destroyed my intended future KH canon... but never fear, Amatus has already begun reconstructing, LOL. This particular drabble, however, is based on an idea I got from the story details contained in the press release; Sora, Donald, and Goofy are searching for a "Key to Return Hearts," and Riku and Mickey are searching for past wielders—which means Riku will neither save Xion or be there when Sora saves her. :(**

* * *

"Hey, Xion, wake up."

She opens her eyes to shadows and the faintest sliver of sunlight on the ceiling. "Sora? Isn't it a little early?"

"When's that ever stopped you? Come on, we've got company."

With a sigh that turns into a groan at the burn in her arms, Xion pushes herself out of bed and stumbles across her room in the dark, berating herself for staying up so late training with Kairi. "There had better be a good—"

"Xion?"

His voice stops her where she stands.

He may be two weeks late, but he's found his way back.

"Ri-riku?"

* * *

**Early bonus! Usually I would wait until the end to post extras, but I have to post this one now—there was a tumblr post begging for Riku to cry like a man in KHIII, and one of my friends commented that they wanted Riku to cry when he remembered Xion at last. How about this, thiscreepygirl? ;) Enjoy, all!**

A quick flash of light in the darkness is all the warning Riku gets before the pain hits with the force of a tidal wave.

_"But I'm just a puppet—"_

"Riku!"

He's dimly aware of his knees giving out and Mickey hovering around him even as he clenches his eyes shut.

_"I understand."_

Of course the one who deserved better, the one he never got to thank—

_"Thank you, Riku."_

Of course Sora saves Xion when he's a dimension away.

"Sora found it," he gasps, and he'll never be sure if he's crying because of the pain or the irony.


	33. Uneasy

**Thanks to ImVen, DGMSilverAirHead03, and IvyZee for reviewing, and thanks to IvyZee and The-Gray-Ninja for adding this collection to their favorites! :D**

**Well, smilingshroud on tumblr noticed me liveblogging the hilarity of watching people at Relay for Life doing Zumba instead and indirectly requested Xion/Riku in a similar situation. I needed an idea for this prompt, and thus, we now have "Uneasy." Gotta feel bad for Riku...**

* * *

"Absolutely not."

Predictably, Xion complete ignores him.

Riku feels the eyes of everyone in the bleachers follow him as Xion drags him by the wrist to the center of the gymnasium, bouncing on her feet as she tries to fall in step with the group—primarily women, to his horror. "Xion, you've seen me in Atlantica. _I can't dance._"

"You can't have fun, either."

Uneasily he glances around the room, finding only one other man attempting to belly dance to the word "chocolate" blaring repeatedly over the speakers—

—and forgets to breathe when Xion mimics the same moves easily.


	34. Clouds

**Thanks to ImVen for reviewing!**

**I know, I know, I missed a day, and for that I sincerely apologize. I got stuck on this prompt, and between that and a lack of sleep, I was too tired to stay up and write you a prompt. Never fear, however, I'm presenting you with two drabbles to make up the difference!**

**As many of you are well aware, the original character Haruki is the son of Riku and Xion in OHS's speculative KHIII headcanon. According to Behind the Name, "Haruki" can be made with four different kanji: two for "haru," meaning either "to clear up" or "sun, sunlight," and two for "ki," meaning either "life" or "radiance, shine." I choose the latter kanji in both cases, which means Haruki's name can be roughly compared to "sunshine." Therefore, since "Riku" means "land" and "Xion" goes back to the word for "tide," Haruki fills the third role of the traditional KH trio as the sky when grouped with his parents...**

* * *

Xion covers her face with her hand as if to block the stench of paint, but Riku's awkward shuffle in the center of the spare room—what _used_ to be the spare room—gives him away.

He knows she's trying not to cry.

"We, uh, thought that, since his name means 'sunshine,' it'd be cool to give him his own sky..." He shrugs, glancing around the baby-blue walls and examining the painted clouds closest to him.

"Riku, it's—it's perfect."

And finally, Riku grins. "I'm glad you like it because between buying the house and fixing this up, we're broke."


	35. Feather

**Directly parodies OHS 95. "Feather," in which Riku proves allergic to feathers. As one reviewer pointed out, this is extremely funny...**

* * *

"I'm still trying to understand how you can have feathers on your Keyblade when feathers make you sneeze."

Xion smirks in the darkness, picturing Riku rolling his eyes at her, as Riku's arm wraps around her waist and pulls his body close to hers. "For one," he says, matter-of-fact with a hint of laughter behind it, "they're feathers from an angel wing. I don't think it's physically possible to be allergic to angel wings."

"I don't see how it's impossible—"

"Two, they're not real feathers."

"I'm just saying it's ironic."

Riku groans and buries his face in her hair.


	36. Frenzy

**Thanks to IvyZee, ImVen, and DGMSilverAirHead03 for reviewing! 8D**

**Excuse me and my outrageous writer's block this past week; on top of this being a slightly difficult prompt to work with (seriously, Riku and Xion aren't really the type to "frenzy," if you know what I mean), I've been having doubts on how well these have been turning out. Nothing like kicking writer's block and finishing a prompt, though. :D I promise I will make these up and get back on track—I may even update again tonight, no promises—but until then, enjoy another post-announcement KHIII drabble.**

* * *

Xion had thought this moment would be more of a frenzy, a race to reach each other and to say what went unsaid.

Riku looked as if he'd been in a frenzy to climb the stairs of Yen Sid's tower, his shoulders heaving uncharacteristically, and her heart was pounding fiercely, her hands trembling, but they remained immobile at their own ends of the room.

"You're—you're back," she whispers.

"You're awake," Riku says.

"Barely." It slips before she can stop herself, but Riku chokes on his laughter, and the corners of her mouth curl upward.

The first step comes easily.


	37. Stalemate

**Okay, so, it looks like the writer's block didn't completely go away. The good news about this is, it took me so long to post again that there's no way I can get finished by the time school starts only posting one a day, which means I won't pressure myself to get one drabble done every day anymore. The bad news is, either I don't get this done by the time I go to school or I _have_ to post two to three drabbles a day. I vote we just see what I can come up with. Besides, it'll be fun to visit with you guys while I'm in school and getting lambasted for my writing style. ^_^**

**Onto the topic at hand: body language indicates that this takes place during KHIII based on what we currently know about the plot. It's not overly shippy, per se, but it's another indicator of the relationship they have. Enjoy!**

* * *

Riku extends a hand toward her when Xion lifts her head, a small smile on his face. From where she lies, she can see the shadows in the lines on his face, most of them new. Taking his hand, she lets him pull her off the training room floor. "Ready to call it a night?"

Her Keyblade reappears in hand.

"Xion—"

"Are you here to train me or not?" she snaps. "If I can't at least stalemate with you, then I'm not strong enough."

Riku falls silent, watches her with narrowed eyes—

—and lifts the Way to Dawn, nodding.


	38. Silent

**Second one for the day—third post may yet be possible tonight. I wanted to work on _The New Future's Face_ this summer, but that obviously didn't and isn't happening. In light of that, I figured I'd include some of the more RikuShi moments that occur at the same time as major plot points in Haruki's story, this being one of the biggest. While I'm here, any guesses as to who Mitsu is? (I'm just curious to see what you think...)  
**

**Set when Riku is approximately forty(!), Haruki is twenty-one or twenty-two, and Xion is... well...  
**

* * *

Haruki is gone by the time Riku wakes, probably off with Mitsu chasing sunshine to hide the Darkness.

He wishes it were that easy for him to forget the cold sheets he woke up to that had been warm this time a week ago.

He wades through the emptiness of the house, pushing aside memories when he catches glimpses of Xion's smile from pictures on the walls. Light filters in from the windows; beyond them, the sea blurs into the sky, what remains of Xion past the horizon.

And Riku stands in the shadows of his house, silent and broken.


	39. Dream

**As promised to my good friend DGMSilverAirHead03 a while ago, who particularly likes this subset of drabbles, I wanted to write one last drabble in the "Xion is Sleeping Beauty and Maleficent is still a hag" set. As the prompt implies, this takes place while Xion is in her cursed sleep. I'm not exactly happy—my original idea for this drabble was to have a vision of Riku actually fighting Maleficent as dragon—but I do like the way it came out. Enjoy!**

* * *

Xion waits, and she dreams.

The world is black, no floor or ceiling to be seen, but there is solid ground below her, Roxas, and Riku; they charge each other as she watches—

A flash of green and Roxas disappears, a circle of flames surrounding her. "Have you ever considered that you're not good for her?"

Xion glances up from Maleficent's fire—and there he is, outside the fire, his back to her. "Riku…"

"I'm sorry, Xion."

She reaches across the crackling flames—

The fire dissipates when she touches his shoulder; there is pressure on her lips, then _light._


End file.
